Yellowstone

I felt crazy for doing this trip, the very second I drove into all the snow.


I knew a few hours ahead of time that there would be SOME snow. But once I drove into it I felt overwhelmed, unprepared, scared, alone and definitely crazy.

It didn't help that my phone had no service. But I didn't want to give up, and turn back defeated.

Luckily, the bulk of the snow was before Yellowstone. Once I got through the heaviest parts of the snow (at the top of the mountain) the rest of the drive wasn't bad. The trees were covered in light snow, but the roads were clean. That was good news.

I saw a sign for Grand Teton National Park. And I got so excited that I jumped out with piglet in hand and took a self-timer photo. I felt silly posing for a picture while other people drove by. But I was starting to have fun.


A few more signs later, I made it to the entrance of Grand Teton. The ranger told me I'd be fine driving to Old Faithful. More good news. But he also told me that some roads were being closed due to forest fires. I just wanted to get to the Old Faithful Inn and take a break from the stress of driving.

The park was amazing. It didn't seem busy at all, either.

Then, right before I turned onto the road for the Old Faithful Inn I spotted a BUFFALO on the side of the road!!!! I took pictures of him from inside the Jeep. I wasn't about to provoke that guy. It was a great feeling to be in the national forest and see such an amazing animal like that, just a few feet away.

The Inn was PACKED! Everyone was waiting for Old Faithful to spew, so there weren't any spaces in the parking lot. So I had to park down the road at the Old Faithful store. I packed what I could into my backpack and took off up the hill with all my stuff.

My room was nice and comfy: two beds. Ha! One for me and one for piglet, my travel buddy! The bathroom was "down the hall." Meaning it was next door to me. Which was awesome news. Until I saw that the showers were closed. I had to walk upstairs to take my shower. I felt a little weird walking around in my provided robe, but at 8am I didn't happen to run into many other people in the halls.

The only time I felt awkward on this trip so far, was when I went to eat dinner and breakfast at the Inn. People were watching me. I felt eyes all around me. I was fine with eating alone, I just didn't appreciate all the stares.

I watched Old Faithful spew before I left Yellowstone. It was just as my breakfast waitress described it "okay, but not something to make a big deal about." So I took some pictures and took off down the hill to my car.


While leaving Yellowstone, I saw a bunch of cars stopped. And I figured it was another animal. Then I saw HIM! It was a very large Bull Elk. He had HUGE antlers. So of course I was happy to stop and snap some more pictures. Although the other people were very close to him, I stayed as far away as possible. He let out a few screams and then walked toward the people that were too close to him. They retreated to their cars and he took off across the street. So I had mixed emotions about seeing this animal. He was amazing to see, but then I also felt bad for him. Since people were invading his natural habitat to take photos. I'm just glad nobody got hurt and he didn't have to charge at anyone to get his point across.


There were beautiful sights all the way through the forest. And if I would have stopped at every photo opportunity, I never would have made it out of the park.

I would love to visit Yellowstone again so I can explore more of the park.